Whether charging about the skewed faux living room, tucking a leg under herself in a big easy chair, or guiding us through “Hollywood 101” with a pointer, Fisher is an exaggerated, appealing personality decked out in leggings, gilt-trimmed shmatas, and sparkly eye shadow. Berkeley Rep honcho Tony Taccone is at the helm of her quick-moving show, which borrows a page or two from Dame Edna in its folksy engagement of individual audience members. I’m not a fan of shanghaiing the audience, but, as with Dame Edna, there seems to be no resisting Carrie Fisher. The force is with her.

Review: Sorority Row You can't fault young actresses (here including Rumer Willis, the daughter of Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, and Briana Evigan, who's nearly Moore's double) for jumping into a mindless movie like this one from Stewart Hendler.

Choir power The Romantic notion of artistic merit is that one must plumb the depths of despair to emerge with great work — and that the finest triumphs are often born of the direst misery.

Musician + Author = Crap On Tuesday, musician Ben Folds (formerly of the Five) and rock-obsessed novelist Nick Hornby ( High Fidelity ) released a collaborative record called Lonely Avenue . The result of this musical-literary team-up isn't excruciating.

ARTSEMERSON'S METAMORPHOSIS | February 28, 2013 Gisli Örn Garðarsson’s Gregor Samsa is the best-looking bug you will ever see — more likely to give you goosebumps than make your skin crawl.

CLEARING THE AIR WITH STRONG LUNGS AT NEW REP | February 27, 2013 Lungs may not take your breath away, but it's an intelligent juggernaut of a comedy about sex, trust, and just how many people ought to be allowed to blow carbon into Earth's moribund atmosphere.